Prologue Part One: The Fall of Innocence
"They've breached sector 132!"
"We must hold this position!"
"I have a boo-boo!"
"Stay strong, soldier. We'll get you help soon."
Ah, the panicked voices of the Kids Next Door operatives made Teen Ninja Devon Thompson smile wolfishly under his wolf-like menpo. The siege on the Moonbase, the KND's last stronghold, was going perfectly. The villains had the snot-nosed brats on the run. "How much longer until that door's open, Jose?" Devon asked his teammate who was operating a mini hacking device and slowly bypassing the security door.
"Shouldn't be much longer. We might have them cornered but expect the culicagados to fight back." Jose replied.
Devon nodded and looked to his other fellow Teen Ninjas, Riley, Gregory, and Fifi who all wore the standard Teen Ninja armor and similar dog-like armored masks. "Greg, how's your eye?" Devon asked.
"Still can't see properly," Gregory said, lifting his mask to rub his watering and reddened left eye, "That Goddess damned toddler got me good with that spicy mustard… But I can still fight."
Devon nodded, "Ok, we'll get you some medical aid after we take down the head brat." He looked to the tallest and strongest teen of the group, Riley, "How's that chest bruise?"
"My armor's dented, but the healing charm took care of the pain. Taking a rock filled S.L.U.G.G.U.H. to the sternum wasn't fun though," Riley said, massaging the dented area on his armor, remembering the pain.
"We'll get you new armor when this is over," Devon told him. He looked at Fifi, "You ready to finish this?"
"Yes, I'm low on ammo and broccoli smoke bombs, but I've managed to get by with worse," Fifi said.
"Thirty seconds, everyone get ready," Jose announced, tensing up as he watched the small screen of his hacking device reach ninety-nine percent.
Devon and his team made their final preparations to storm the room, weapons were drawn and the last bit of adrenaline began to flow. This was it, the KND falls today.
The automatic doors slid open and the five teens were greeted by a twelve year old girl in a L.O.C.K.A.H.S.O.C.K.A.M. The girl pointed the locker mech's arm cannons at them and shot off a few rounds of not repulsive smelling gym clothes, but heavy textbooks. Most of them dodged out of the way, but Gregory's leg was grazed by a history textbook.
Gregory's knee buckled under him, "... It's revisionist history…" he warned the others through gritted teeth.
Devon's eyes widened a bit and he tensed up even more, either the Supreme Leader was prepared for them specifically or she thought to use something heavier than piles of used clothes.
"The garbage your adult allies force us to read in that prison they call school makes for good ammo, wouldn't you say?!" The Supreme Leader commented before shooting another textbook at Gregory's head, but it missed as Fifi tackled her injured comrade out of harm's way. The mech slowly stomped forward into the hallway, "Do you really think that I, Number 148, would surrender to you!?" The Supreme Leader said as a few other operatives came out of the room and stood at either side of her mech, weapons at the ready. "The Kids Next Door will never fall! Kids Next Door, attack!" She commanded.
The five Teen Ninjas took evasive action, dodging and leaping out of the way of everything from textbooks, to condomants, soda, and lasers. A textbook sailed over Devon's shoulder, just missing his head. He pulled out some small green pellets and tossed them at the operatives, the pellets exploded upon contact with the floor and green gas filled the hallway.
"Broccoli gas! Don't breathe it in!" Said an operative.
Devon could hear a few kids collapse in the haze filled hall. He turned on his infrared vision on his mask and confirmed that a few of the operatives had gone down. But the Supreme Leader was unaffected, her particular mech housed the driver in a protective, ventilated compartment.
Devon's team started to go on the offensive.
Jose tossed a few tennis balls into the air which then sprouted small helicopter blades and small lenses. The balls zipped around the hall, shooting lasers at the lethargic children.
Fifi had her pellet pistol out and started shooting round dog kibble at the mech's feet, making it stumble as it stepped on the food.
Gregory, who was up and back in the fight again, took out a few bladed frisbees and tossed them at the mech. The frisbees created sparks as they cut into the metal lockers. One locker was so damaged that its textbook ammo spilled out.
Riley took out an oversized wooden and metal frisbee shield and a large rawhide dog bone about the size of a baseball bat and charged forward. He blocked everything being shot at him with his shield as he tore through the hall, clubbing the remaining children. Riley made it to the Supreme Leader's mech and dodged out of the way as it swung at him with its empty locker arm.
Devon aimed a metal quarterstaff with a shock collar attached to the end by a retractable leash at the mech. He pressed a button and the collar shot out, electrifying itself as it sailed through the air. The collar hit the mech and electricity poured through it.
When the mech went limp, Riley took his chance and started battering the thing, taking out one of its legs and making it fall to a knee before starting to break the glass protecting the girl inside.
After the glass was shattered, Number 148 managed to regain control of her locker mech again. It swung its arm through the pile of textbooks on the floor, scattering them.
There was no space to dodge. All of the teens went down as they were struck. Devon was struck in the stomach and right shoulder with two hardcover textbooks, one math and one English. But the worst pain was in his head as incorrect information assaulted his skull like a stabbing headache.
"Of course they would send the homework eating beasts after me," Number 148 said as she inched her mech forward, "thought I'd fill my L.O.C.K.A.H.S.O.C.K.A.M. with old and incorrect textbooks just in case!" She said as her mech kicked Riley out of the way and continued making its way forward. "You five were filthy, mangey, traitors from the very start!" she yelled as she made her mech swing an arm at Fifi, knocking her aside.
Devon tried to rise to his feet, but every muscle protested. He managed to prop himself up onto his elbows.
"Did you ever once think about what you were doing!? Working for the villains, stealing our secrets!" The Supreme Leader asked, making her mech grab Jose, who was trying to crawl away, and throwing him into Gregory, who had managed to get to his knees.
Devon shakily rose to one knee but was now face to face with the L.O.C.K.A.H.S.O.C.K.A.M.'s arm cannon pointed directly at him. He got a science textbook from the 1930's directly to the face, partially breaking his mask, and making him fall backwards. He felt himself being picked up by a giant metallic hand.
"What did you have to gain from making all of kidkind suffer!?" The Supreme Leader said, slamming him back first into a wall, "fucking answer me, dog!"
Devon made himself look the brat in the eyes and gave her his answer, "Revenge," was all he said before new strength flooded him and he began to change. His armor and the clothes beneath seemed to melt away and were replaced by a coat of light brown fur, his bones rearranged, and he grew in size and muscle mass. He grabbed the mech's fingers with his clawed hand-paws and pried them off of him, breaking a few in the process.
Number 148 made the mech take a few steps backward and she felt her bravery waver.
Devon opened his sharp toothed jaws and roared before springing forward and swinging his deadly claws at the child. She was on the defensive now, blocking the beast's strikes.
Four more weredogs suddenly pounced on the mech. A male husky and a female poodle grabbing the mech's arms and forcing them to remain still and their dangerous cannons pointed toward the ground, a large male German Shepherd rammed the mech's legs and made it fall to the ground, and a small male Majorca Ratter leapt into the mech via the shattered opening. The mech stopped struggling and screams were heard as the small canine bit the Supreme Leader's arm.
Devon, the brown wolfdog, jumped onto the mech and reached inside, grabbing the child and pulling her out. The Ratter let go of her arm and landed safely on the floor. Devon held Number 148 up so she was nose to snout with him and growled out, "the KND has fallen," before slamming her to the ground, knocking her unconscious. The wolfdog stood tall on his hind legs and let out his howl of victory. The other weredogs joined in and their howls became a wild chorus.
The KND has fallen.
(Hello everyone, welcome to the new and improved 'A Count's Best Friend (Revised Edition)'. Now with a more cohesive plot, 50% fewer plot holes, and an author who knows what the heck they're doing. This fanfic is near and dear to my heart and I couldn't just let it die off, so I'm rewriting it. A lot of things will change and some will stay the same, but I'm taking it in a better direction. Such as this prologue, which highlights some of the pack's villainy when they were older teenagers, rather than just telling you that they were evil I now show it.
To my new and old readers and commenters, I see you, I love your enthusiasm for my dumb little fanfic, and I appreciate any engagement. Stay tuned for more!)